A year after it was devastated by fire and water damage, a staple of Toronto’s restaurant scene has reopened its doors this weekend.
Lahore Tikka House has been serving traditional Pakistani dishes in Toronto’s east end for nearly 30 years, but was forced to close last summer after a kitchen fire that led to extensive water damage when firefighters put it out.
Owner Adam Sayani says he expected the restaurant to reopen within a few months, but the timeline kept getting extended, to the point he wasn’t sure Friday’s reopening would ever come.
But that may have only added to the anticipation. On the first night, Sayani says customers packed the house and the restaurant sold out of a number of dishes.
“They probably just were over-ordering because after a year and half of not being able to eat the food, they really probably wanted more than what they usually get,” he said.
One of the early customers, Kaitlin Benoit, missed opening night, but came rushing in on Saturday, saying the restaurant is a Toronto institution.
“As soon as I saw the post last night saying that yeah, we’re open again, I knew that we were going to be coming back,” she said.
Many employees are returning too, like Rafik Patel, who continued working for Lahore Tikka House out of a food truck while repairs were underway. He said he was grateful for the customers who supported the food truck in the meantime so he could get back to the building he’s been working in for over a decade.
“I’m reaching out to every person… thanking them for being here and supporting throughout the year,” he said.
The restaurant was still serving food out of a truck while repairs were underway, but this weekend is the true homecoming.
The restaurant was started in 1996, by Sayani’s father, Alnoor Sayani. His wife took over the business about a decade ago when Alnoor passed away.
Adam says he worked in the restaurant growing up, but didn’t originally plan to carry on in his parents’ footsteps. He was living in New York City, working in finance with plans for a career on Wall Street before the fire.
“But it never felt like me,” he said.
“The fire kind of allowed me to come back to Toronto, start with the food truck now, start with the business and then hopefully continue on to bigger and better things,” he said. “That’s my legacy. I can’t give up on my family’s legacy.”